Spindle.



H. L. BROWN.

SPINDLE.

APPLICATION FILED D30. 24, 1909.

987,546. 7 fitented Mani :1, 1911;

)Vitweooeo a "me n f 50 spindles the gear a so that during fif h espindle by forming one or more ports 'in the walls of the rotatableshell at or near the reglon of the driving gear, through which port thelubricant is drawn by cen- 6 trifugal force and delivered into the gearteeth. v

. The subjectmatter of this application has been divided from myapplication, Serial N0.;4L36,472, filed June 3, 1908.

The various features of my invention will be illustrated and'describedfully in the accompanying drawings and specification and pointed out inthe claims. In .the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical,

sectional view of a spindle in the construction of which my improvementshave been embodied. Fig. 2.shows in elevation the spindle of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a view in plan,

looking from bottom totop, Fig. 1; and

2 0 Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of a modified .form of spindle, shownpartly in section,

with ,several of the members ready for assemblage.

In the embodiment of my invention selected for'illustration anddescription as a convenient form to enable ready and completemiderstandlng of my improvements, the part designated by the referencechar- I -acte'r a Is theshell of the spindle and cons'titutes therotatable member in the instance illustrated, carrying a blade at, toreceive a suitable bobbin or similar device, such as that illustrated atI in Fig. 1, the shell being mounted rotatively upon a supportingmembera which is'situated axially within the socket or hollow interiorbearing portion of the shell-spindle member. The shell has preferably anexterior pinion, gear or simi- "lar device 1 of a character suitable toper- 40 mit the spindle to be driven positively, for

which purpose I have shown a gear 0 (partly broken away), and while I donot limit myself to any specific form of driving mechanism, I prefer touse gearing of the herring bone or analogous types for the spindle inionand its actuating member, as such'a orm of gear will aid to serve thatobject of my invention which provides for means to counteract thetendency of shell to leave their supports co-axially. In accordance withan extremely important feature of my invention, I have provided, andillustrated at a,, a universal bearing intermediate the shell a and itssupporting member a,, preferably at the driving region relation to thenormal, moving about the struction as an element of prime importance notinfrequently,

universal play may,

in the ability of a spindle toavoid deleterious vibrations, afactorespecially important at high speeds. 'Io'promote stability of thespindle inits self-centered position, I prefer to locate the drivebearing a, at a region of low flexibility of the supporting member nearthe threaded attaching end, and I prefer to provide also a secondary orauxiliary bearing member (4 at a region of greater flexibility, so thatif the spindle blade (1, be struck a sharp blow, as happens the tip ofthe supporting member a. is free to yield, while its'threaded lower end,being held fast in a suitable base (not shown) holds the universalbearing member a firmly, and the shell! (4 may nod or duck with the tipof the memher a, under the impact of the blow, moving around theuniversal bearing without straining or parting the bearing surfaces,

and after the force of the blow'has been spent, can again straighten upunder the.

action of the member The shell and its blade may then, and preferablywill, be of relativel ri 'id construction formin an integral metalmember, symmetrical, and as true as .it is possible to make itmechanically, while the supporting post a, will also prefer ably be madeof metal, its lesser diameter ordinarily serving to endow it withsuflicient ability to give or yield slightly near its tip without anyspecial preliminary treatment to impart resiliency, although where founddesirable, tempering, or other suitable treatment to induce flexibilityofthe requisite degree, is to be considered within the scope of myinvention. 4

It should be noted that the bearing parts of both bearings are inperfect contact at all times, and that I obviate the use of adventitiousmeans to promote flexibility, such as felted or fibrous packings, whichmust be renewed from time to'time, and the novel principle ofconstruction above recited I conceive to be of general utility in itsapplication to spindles and accordingly I claim it hereinaftergenerically.

Vhen embodied in a spindle device wherein the rotating member takes. theform of a shell, as illustrated herein, the bearing part a, whichaffords the capability of slight and preferably will, comprise aseparately formed member of generally spherical shape, provided with anaxial borea to pass the supporting post and furnish a snug bearing fitthereon, the "area of the cylindrical bearing surface'constituted bythis bore preferably being approximately equal to the area of theexterior spherical bearing surfaces a and sphere or I a so that thebearing surfaces will to ether furnish a compound bearing, the member a,will be free to rotate between the post and shell, and the friction Willbe distributed. The bearing surface upon the rotating shell fromparallelism with the main axis of member of the spindle may be of any.form suitable to'eooperate with the bearing surface with which it istoengage, and as one convenient form of surface to engage the sphericalsurface a,, I have illustrated ata a concave annular shoulder which inthe instance illustrated is formed integral with the material of thespindle shell and faces the open mouth of the shell, while to cooperatewiththe lower spherical surface of the member a I preferto provide abearing member a of annular form and-havinga concave bearing surface afacing oppositely to the surface a the two surfaces embracing the spherebetween them, and affording the maximum distribution of friction.' Themember a, will preferably be made removable and arranged to be securedin adjusted position, serving as means to retain the shell upon itssupport, a function of great importance at high speeds, inasmuch asheretofore it has been found impossibleto operateshell spindles at aspeed of three thousand turns to a minute and over, owingtotheco-axialaberration of the shell. This retaining bearing bush willpreferably have itsaxial bore a slightly larger in diameter than theportion of the. supporting post.

passing therethrough, in order to clear the post during nutativedisplacement of the the post,.and'also'v to afford ample exit'of thefluid lubricant with such detritus as may result from the attrition ofthe hearings, or otherwise find its way into the circulating lubricant,this continuous self-cleaning ac-' tion' of the spindle constituting oneof the most important and novel features of my invention, as will beunderstood more fully upon reference to thefmore detailed explanation ofthe oiling system set forth else where herein. Viewing the member a, in,

another aspect, it may be regarded as the mainwearing part of thedevice, in view of the above recited tendency of shell spindles, to riseontheir supports at the high speeds common in spinning cotton, silk andother fibers, and I prefer to harden the material of thevmember towithstand this wear, and

to provide for'its ready replacement when worn; its occasionaladjustmentwith accuracy. and. nicety; and its positive fixation inadjusted position; these requirements being subserved by a threadedconnection of relatively fine'pitch as at a between the periphery of thebush andthethroat'of the shell, and by screws a tapped into the base ofthe bush and so positioned that their heads may enter. recesses a(See'Fig. 3) arranged at such intervals as may be found desirable aroundthe mouth of the shell, the distance between recesses representing apredetermined co-axial displacement of the bush along. the post,corresponding to the degreeof wear, which may necessitate readjustment,according to experience. As a corollary of the establishment of thisbush a, as the main bearing part, I may, and prefer to, arrange theauxiliary ring a, in such'a manner as to coirdinate its 0 eration andadjustment with that of the. bus g a and for this purpose I have shownmeans a to maintain the auxiliary bushing beaning' member a,automatically in snug gagement vwlth its cooperating bearing .63

within the shell member a, andto serve at the same time as means toexerta co-axial draft upon the shell tending to maintain thebush-bearing surface an, in normal operative engagement with themouthw'ard'surface of the bearing part a Any suitable means 0 may beprovided to maintain'the parts in this relation, and as one convenientform of such means I haveshown a coil spring surrounding the post a,which may be ,reducedsomewhat in diameter to seat the spring, one end ofthe springbearing against the shoulder a while its other end exerts aconstant thrustagainst a loose washer o below the anterior portion ofthe auxiliary bushing a The shell-bearing surface a will'j'preferably beslightly coned, to correspondwith which the exterior of the bushing amaybe similarly coned,-and' as it is desirable to secure .at thisbearing the ad: vantageous distribution offriction alforded bycompounding, 'the free rotation of the bushing a may be facilitated byequalizing the area of its outer. and inner surfaces, and for this.purpose an extension a is shown which causes the inner bearing-surfaceto present by its additional length, an area equal toth e greateroutside diameter ofthe member a I prefer to provide for a hardened andeasily renewable bearing surface upon the tip of the post a, to engagewith the inner surface of the bushing a and this may take any suitableform, as for example the metal sleeve a, shown in Fig; 1, to retainwhich in place the post may. be swaged outward slightly as indicatedflat(L At 0 in Fig. 1 I have shown an integral shoulder which maybe-provided to limit the upward shift of the bearing part a under theaction of the spring a and to resist the,

co-axial aberrancy of the shell at high speeds. In the modificationillustrated in Fig. 4, a similar stop is provided in the form ofa sleevewhich may be secured upon the supporting post a, in suitable fashion, asby shrinking, forexample, and has preferably a coned surface Q26 andstop shoulder a the sleeve being hardened preferably and servingas abearing for the similarly coned surface at of the sphere a which inother respects is preferably similarto the sphere a shown in Fig. 1 andcooperates inlike fashion with the shell bearing portion a and thebearing bush (2 these parts being shown as slightly separated, ready forI prising a shell member presenting an inassemblage. The bush a may besecured in adjusted position by -a screw a similar to the screws aalready described, and shown in Figs. 1 and3. One or more washers a, maybe provided as shown in Fig. 4, adja-. cent the shoulder a, to limit theupward shift of the sphere a and as the coned axial bore of the latterwears larger, the sphere may be, reseated after removal of one or moreof the washers (1 v The support post a, of my improved spindle, may havea threaded shank; as illustrated in Fig. 1, andmay be mounted on anysuitable rail, by'which term I designate broadly the portionofa'spinning frame or other apparatus utilized as the mainsupport for thatpart of each spindle, which carries the rotating or spinning memberthereof,

2 without limitation to any technical use of the term rail ,Toattain thebest results at high speeds,

' andindeed at any speed, means should be provided for the regular, andpreferably continuous, circulation of lubricant over thebearing-surfaces between a spindle and its support and driving gears,and-for that purpose anysuitable device may be adopted,

in accordance with my invention. The preferred system of oiling whichI-have devised, and' illustrated herein, permits circulation of oil, orother suitable lubricant, through channels f in the respective spindleposts, to theauxiliary bearings a thence down between the shell and postto the drive bearing a, and from there partly through ports or vents finthe shell-part a to drench or lubricate the gear a preferably, andpartly through the bush bore a Having illustrated and'described my, in

vention thus fully, and suitable means for carryingthe same'into eflect,it will be understood that I do not limit myself to the specificmaterials, construction or uses shown v and described, nor in generalotherwise than as set forth in the claims read in connection with thisspecification.

What I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent is v 1. A spindle ofthe class described; comprising a rotatable shell member presenting aninterior bearing toward its mouth, a re-- movable bearing memberarranged to enter said mouth, and means to secure said remow. ablemember 1n ad Usted position; said re-.

movable member presenting a bearing surface opposite to said interiorbearing surface to embrace a shell-supporting bearing membertherebetween, said shell and remov able member having respectively axialbores of sufficient size to permit a limited universal movement ofsaidshell about said supporting .member; substantially as described.

2. A spindle of the class described; comterlor bearing toward-its mouth,are 9vable bearing member arranged toenter aid mouth, and a screw 1nthebase of one of able bearing memberarranged to enter said mouth; a freelyrotatable annular" member embraced between said fniterior bearing andremovable member ;a n'd Imeans to secure said removable member adjust- 8ed position, saidremovable membenpresenting a bearing surfaceopposite'fto said interiorbe'aring surface. v

4. A shell spindle of theclass described; its support; and a. pluralityof com ound bearings intermediate said spindle an sup.- port; one of"said bearings beinga universal bearing; substantially as described.

5. A shell-spindle of the class described; a supporting post't here-for;anda spherical bearing member intermediate said post and shell, saidspherical member being transfixed by said post and rotatableindependently of both post and shell; substantially as described, 6.Alsupport for shell spindles of the class described; comprising a-posthavinga coned bearing" surface and a shoulder, and provided with aluralit-y of removable washers ;'and a sp erical bearing member ;hav-

ing a coned central bearing bore to' fit" on said post cone, up againstone of said wash: ers; substantially as described.

7. spindledevice of the class described;

a medial, spherical universal bearing and having near one end arotatable'bushing and a spring'to press the same normally toward the endof said post; a spindle-shell mounted to rotate about saidpost andhaving similarlyl faced bearing surfaces to engage rotatively with saidbushing and. spherical members respectively; a removablemember j toengage the side of said spherical member opposite said shell bearing;and means to 1 secure-said removable member to said shell, embracingsaid spherical member, andholding said spring under compression;substantfiallyin the manner and for the purpose set ort 8. A spindle ofthe class described; comprising a rotatable shell having a plurality ofsimilarly faced bearing surfaces separated by a substantial distance; asupporting post to enter said .shell and having a plurality of bearingsurfaces to engage said shell bearings, one of said post bearings beingmounted-yieldingly; and means to exert-a constant pressure on said shelltending normally to move said shell co-axially along comprising asupporting post provided-with the teeth of said gear from the interiorof said spindle; substantially as described.

10. A rotating member for a spindle of the class described having aperipheral or exteriorly' arranged driven portion to be "engaged withdriving means; and means to permit'fiov'v of'lubricantfrom the, interiorof said rotating mer'nber through the Walls of. said driven portion tothe region of driving en agement; substantially as described.

11. shell-spindle; and asupporting post 'having an upper bushing bearingand a universal, spherical bearing for said shell, both Within thelatter, said post having a conduit to convey lubricant in copious quan-ttities to the interior of said shell at a region above said bushing, andmeans to seat said bushing yieldingly to permit'the passage of saidlubricant freely to flush and t0 lubricate said spherical bearing;substantially as described.

Signed at New York in the county and State of NeW-York, this 16th day ofDecember, 1909.

HENRY L. BROWN.

Witnesses ALEXANDER C. PROUDFIT, J OHN B. WENTWORTH.

